Ipswich Location becomes the star in short film

Ipswich film makers Jason Muller and Linda Millar on set and in costume during filming of the short film Childeater.

The bedroom of the weatherboard workers cottage is as it was, stained tongue and groove pine boards and all. The house with the pitched roof was built in the 1890s and inside a nurse sweeps in to tend to an old man they call ‘the childeater’.

“The local children have made up some stories about him, but it’s a family film.

“Having it on good authority that her elderly next door neighbour eats children, five-year-old Darcy slowly begins to realise that things are not always what they seem.”

Ipswich local Linda Millar not only wrote the short film but is also the executive producer and is a member of the cast.

“I’m excited about this film, it has a varied cast from six years old to 75 years old. I wanted to write a script for both genders and all ages. It is difficult to find scripts for older women,” she said.

Another Ipswich local, Jason Muller, is also a part of the cast and crew.

“I am the location manager and I also play the dad,” Mr Muller said.

“When I found the Ipswich Historical Society I knew it would be perfect for the film. The people out here have been amazing and we wouldn’t be where we are at the moment if it wasn’t for their help. We want to highlight what is right here in Ipswich. We have fantastic locations, people don’t realise what’s on their own doorstep.

“Ipswich has such a variety of locations, not just heritage but also modern, 50s, rainforest and vast country. It’s all entwined into one. It’s a gem.”

Mr Muller said he and Ms Millar were on the same page when it came to making movies.

“We want to make a movie that we would like to watch. The opportunities are harder and harder to come by now. You have to go out there and make it yourself and that is what we do,” Mr Muller said.

Other Ipswich locals in the cast are Lisa Parkes and Charlotte Ridley.

The short film is being shot at the Ipswich Historical Society and will run for about 20 minutes. It is scheduled for release in September and there are plans underway for a premier screening in Ipswich.

The cast and crew of the short film Childeater during a break between scenes at the Ipswich Historical Society, New Chum.